Airbus to build ‘stretch’ A380

Airbus said Thursday it planned to build a 900-seat version of its A380 super-jumbo jet. Emirates, the aircraft’s biggest customer, said it would buy the new model.

Airbus will begin developing a “stretch” A380 after the standard plane reaches full production in 2010, Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said.

Airbus has 191 orders for the 555-seat A380, including 58 from Emirates. Eight of those orders were signed this week at the Dubai Air Show.

The biggest Arab airline would fit out the plane to carry 750 passengers on a typical flight, Clark said. Routes to countries such as Thailand and Saudi Arabia, destination of the Muslim

hajj pilgrimage, would even support a 1,000-seat plane, though airports might struggle to cope, he said.